(MChemEngr’96, PhD’98)
Staff Scientist
3M
Distinguished Engineering Alumni Awardee
Category: Research & Invention
After graduating from CU, Kristin Thunhorst joined 3M Corp. in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she has had a distinguished career full of exceptional professional achievements and recognition. Thunhorst has spent her time at 3M working across divisions and developing projects in numerous areas including optics, materials, aerospace and energy.
She has had 22 U.S. patents issued, with numerous other patent filings pending, on products she has developed at 3M. She has led projects and new product development teams that have produced more than $200 million in revenue for 3M, and she has been selected for an unprecedented seven Circle of Technical Excellence and Innovation (CTEI) awards. She received her first CTEI award only a year after starting at 3M. Two of the CTEI awards (one for a team she led and one as an individual) were at the corporate level, where winning one is considered a once-in-a-lifetime achievement.